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Definition of cyathium in English:

cyathium

noun

Botany

The characteristic inflorescence of the spurges, resembling a single flower. It consists of a cup-shaped involucre of fused bracts enclosing several greatly reduced male flowers and a single female flower.

‘Inflorescences consist of a male cyathium surrounded by 5 to 7 bisexual cyathia on a short terminal branch.’

‘A commonly encountered cluster of three cyathia with a mixed sexual orientation is called a cyme.’

‘That means that there are plants that produce only male cyathia and others that produce only female ones.’

‘All are tree Euphorbias, have minute sessile leaves and yellowish cyathia but differ in other respects.’

‘In this species, there is only one nectar gland per cyathium, and petal-like appendages are lacking.’

Origin

Late 19th century: modern Latin, from Greek kuathion, diminutive of kuathos ‘cup’.